March 2009

General Meeting - Tuesday, March 10, 2009

This months program is titled "Five Creeks of Central PA"
by Jonas Price

Jonas is owner and guide for The Feathered Hook, a fly fisher's B&B located on Penn's Creek. He will be doing a presentation on some of the world class trout fishing near Spring Creek, in the State college area of Pennsylvania.

April 14 - Wendell 'ozzie' Ozefovich

Trout in the Classroom

UnderwaterOz is back after being UnderWeatherOz last December.  The Life Cycle of the Brook Trout, a presentation as given to the Trout in the Classroom students.

The Life Cycle of the Brook Trout was developed for students who are engaged in the Trout in the Classroom program. It is a narrated video presentation of 22 minutes duration, and interaction with the students during the presentation extends the time to approximately 30 minutes.

It shows the class where the trout eggs came from, and then what happens to the trout after their release. The presentation explains the life cycle of both hatchery-bred and wild trout that reproduce naturally in our streams and rivers, the food they eat, their predators, and other perils that trout face throughout their life cycle.  It also includes the spawning sequence of wild trout from the physical changes that take place in the fall, to the final spawn.

May 12- Aaron Jasper

Methods of European Nymphing

Aaron Jasper is going to give a presentation on the different European nymphing techniques. He has been fortunate enough to have been taught by some of the best anglers out there. He will peak your curiosity with his show an hopefully many of you will like it enough to get started "Euro Nymphing" on your own!

Note: The June meeting will be held on the third Tuesday which is June 16th

News & Events

Connetquot Trip!

Monday, March 23

The chapter trip to the Connetquot will be Monday, March 23. The trip is open to all Members . The cost is $50  and $60 for guests.  We will not have a bus so each angler must get to the park on his or her own.  I will take reservations at the March meeting. Please no checks or credit cards, exact change in cash only. The trip will be limited to the first 20 members and a NYS licence is necessary. I can be reached by phone most evenings 732 549 1293 - Hal Fish

The 2009 Trip Schedule is now available

Annual Open House and Fishermen’s Flea Market at Pequest Hatchery - NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife

Saturday and Sunday, April 4 and 5 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Musconetcong River Clean-up

April 18, 2009

CJTU had it's annual fly tying demo at Efingers on February 7th. Dick Turse and Bob Kean are shown exhibiting their skills. More photos from the event are in the photo gallery.

President’s Letter

March 2009

First off, I would like to apologize for this issue of Main Stream arriving a little late to your inbox. The delay was my fault; in fact this letter was the cause. We all get a little busy with life sometimes and this was one of those weeks for me. I would love to say that I have been busy fishing or otherwise enjoying these recent spring like days but unfortunately that was not the case. I did get out over the weekend to spend a little time streamside, but I did not get the opportunity to fish. The river (the South Branch) looked great, a little low for this time of year but perfect for fishing. I saw a few little black stones around and even saw one fish feeding on top. I will definitely head out during the week and give it a go. Remember the season closes on most waters in a few weeks so if you are a early season angler your running out of time before the opening day madness begins.

Keeping on track with the fishing discussion I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about a new program we are interested in starting up. In recent months we have been talking a lot about getting members involved in chapter activities. At a recent board of directors meeting it was discussed that perhaps the organization could find ways to give back to its members. One of the ideas discussed was a "mentoring program". This would involve teaching folks more about the sport of trout fishing and the conservation of our cold water resources. The main focus would be fly-fishing but if some one was interested in spin fishing I'm sure we could accommodate them. The program would involve on and off stream instruction, casting lessons, and streamside tours of local fishing waters. At this writing I have about six people that are willing to help out with the instruction end of things and a few more waiting in the wings if the program takes off. I'll be talking more about this during this week's meeting. As soon as we finalize the details I will send out more information. As we head into spring there will be a lot going on with Central Jersey Trout Unlimited. There will be several work projects coming up and we also have our annual river clean up on April 18th. You can find out more information on the river clean up in this month's newsletter. We also have a trip out to the Connetquot River scheduled for April 23rd, see Hal Fish at the meting for more information.

In the upcoming months we will be offering a few more fishing related items for sale at our meetings and possibly through our website in the near future. One item will be fly selections specifically designed for local waters. These selections will include additional information about the selected flies along with hatch charts for select times of year. The fly selections will be broken down by the season or time of year so you can head out to the stream with only the flies you need. We are also looking to sell other items such as hand tied leaders for specific fishing techniques and some other hard to find items. As another way to help us raise funds we are also considering having a 50/50 at our monthly meetings in addition to or as a replacement to our usual bucket raffles. We will be experimenting with it over the next few months to see if it is viable for us. The chapter is starting for feel the effects of our failing economy just like each one of us and we need to come up with additional ways of raising money. That being said, if anyone has any suggestions on how the chapter can be more effective with its fundraising efforts please share them with us.

That's it for now. I hope to see you all at one of our upcoming meetings or out on the water somewhere.

Tight Lines,
Bart Lombardo

Fly Tying at Efinger's

For about ten years, through the fly-tying class run by Tom Kapusta, a group of us tied flies on a Saturday in February at Ray's Sport Shop. It was a very successful, fun time for the tyers and educational for Ray's customers. As you know Ray's went out of business this year so we first thought that it was the end of this program. However, we approached Ron at Efinger's and he managed to get permission for us to continue the program at his store.

So, on Feb. 7 about ten of us regulars met upstairs in their Receiving Department and proceeded to tie our favorite flies for any customers who managed to find us. Unfortunately the location was out of sight and we needed an escort to bring us our audience. Hopefully next year we can get better advertising for the program and find a place more convenient for Efinger's customers to watch. Nevertheless, we had a fun time and ate our traditional Boston Creme donuts and pizza. What a combo!

Dick Turse

More photos from this event can be seen in the photo gallery.

Clean-Up On The Wild And Scenic Musconetcong

by Stuart Shafran

Our 2009 Annual Musconetcong River Clean-up date has been set for April 18th. We will be assembling once again, at the Hampton Boro Park, located at the intersection of the Musconetcong River and Route 31. Sign-in is at 8 am, at which time clean-up locations will be assigned, trash bags, gloves, water, and snacks will be distributed, and group photos will be taken. Clean-up hours are from 9 am -12 noon. The Musconcetcong Watershed Association will provide lunch beginning at noon, for all participants of the clean-up, at the newly renovated River Resource Center in Asbury.

We recommend that you wear long pants and shirts. It may be too early in the year for ticks, but not too early for poison ivy. We also recommend that you wear waterproof boots, a hat, dress in layers, and carry a walking stick. Chest waders are optional. Depending on the flow of the river we may only be working close to the water's edge.

For first time volunteers, travel Route 78 West to exit 17 North. This puts you onto Route 31 North, where you will travel for 7.5 miles to the intersection of River Road/Musconetcong River. Turn left at that traffic signal. At the first stop sign, turn right, and make an immediate right into the park. We will be meeting under the pavilion.

We encourage you to bring your children, grandchildren, wives, husbands and significant others. You may choose, instead, to fish a spot just discovered that day. The river is in great shape and will be fully stocked. Every year this event has proven not only to be rewarding, but lots of fun as well. Here's your opportunity to not only help the environment, but more importantly, set good examples for others.

To register or for more information please call Stuart Shafran, 732-500-5239, or e-mail me at s2rtflyfisher@verizon.net. Don't forget a camera!

Articles

This month we have two articles dealing with the Musky. Brian Cowden gives us an update on the Musconetcong Home River Initiative in an article titled “Musky Home Rivers Update” and Stu Shafran gives us a personal account of the Seber Dam removal.

“Musky Home Rivers Update”

Well, it has been a very busy winter season for yours truly. Winter is time to identify work projects and to write grants to pay for those projects. This winter promises up to 13 riparian planting projects throughout the watershed, some on the Musky and some along the banks of several tributaries. I will attempt to get as much involvement from our TIC schools in the watershed as possible. Our growing partnership with the Holland Township School on the lower river where students planted 600 native trees and shrubs last Sept. will continue this year with a cattle stream crossing project and riparian buffer planting. We have also engaged the local communities in the watershed to increase our riparian buffer work. A section of Lubber’s Run in Byram Twp. will see its first riparian buffer along private property along that important Musky tributary with assistance from the Byram Environmental Commission and several local landowners.

In addition to riparian plantings, we have numerous “rock-rolling”projects lined up. One is to repair three riffles above the now removed Seber Grove Dam between Mount Olive and Hackettstown on the upper river. There are stone weirs built by hand over these riffles causing bank damage when the river flanks them. Work dates will be announced as the weather gets warmer. These are not the types of projects designed for student help, so I will be soliciting TU and other volunteers. I have found tremendous success in posting on some of the local trout fishing forums; many members of these forums had come out last year to help and most have since become active TU members. I have more support this winter by far than I did last year by discussing TU’s activities with the Musconetcong Home River Initiative on these forums. Part of my charter is to help grow our grassroots membership and along with half price offers placed at fly shops and at the Pequest Hatchery, I find the forums an excellent source of new blood. Read More

“The Removal of Seber Dam”

On a sunny, late February afternoon, we stood along the bank of the Musconetcong River watching our crew dismantle the Seber Grove Dam. I was joined by Brian Cowden, Trout Unlimited's Musconetcong Home River Initiative Project Coordinator, Bill Leavens, president of the Musconetcong Watershed Association, and Bill Kibler, president of the South Branch Watershed Association. We stood, in awe, at the speed and precision that the heavy duty hydrolic operator worked. In less than half a day, he had chopped up the seventy year old concrete structure, filled in bank erosion with loose cobble, dredged decades of sand and silt, had two cups of coffee and a bathroom break. Read More

Pequest Programs 2009

CJTU volunteers are needed at the kids fishing pond or other duties at the Pequest Open House

Annual Open House and Fishermen's Flea Market

Saturday and Sunday, April 4 and 5 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Come celebrate the arrival of spring and the opening of trout season at the Pequest Trout Hatchery Open House. There are activities for people of every age. Come see some of NJ's wildlife artists, taxidermists and carvers. Get to know some of NJ's conservation groups and learn what they do for NJ's natural resources. Visit with historical reenactors or learn how to safely shoot a shotgun or bow. There are many activities for kids including fishing in our education pond for kids between the ages of 8 and 16 (all equipment provided), younger kids can try to catch a fish in our kiddie trout tank, or join our staff to learn about insects and fish biology. You can even take a self-guided tour of the hatchery and see where more than 700,000 trout are raised each year for NJ's rivers and streams.

Be sure to visit the NJ Endangered Wildlife Exhibit now at Pequest.

The following CJTU weekend programs are tentative and may be cancelled depending upon what the present administration has in mind. Details on the programs will follow.

Fly Casting Clinic for Beginners

Saturday, July 11th 11am - 3pm
Saturday, August 1st 11am - 3pm

CJTU Kids Fishing Education Day

Saturday, September 19th 10am - 3pm